The FDA has sent notices to the 27 separate American companies
now producing alcohol and caffeine mixed drinks, asking each brewer to prove the
safety and legality of using caffeine as an additive in alcoholic drinks. The nation’s 2 largest breweries, Anheuser-Busch
Cos. and MillerCoors, have already stopped sellingalcoholic energy
drinks, following investigation and criticism last year.

A task force of state attorney generals has been working to
prompt the FDA into action, arguing that caffeine can obscure the intoxicating
qualities of alcohol, making people feel less drunk than they actually are.
This in turn can lead to the consumption of excessive quantities of alcohol, and a corresponding
increase in risky behaviors and drunk driving. In a Sept. 25th
letter to the FDA, the task force wrote, "There is a strong emerging
consensus of scientific opinion that the combination of caffeine and alcohol .
. . poses a serious public health risk."

The attorney generals further argue that these drinks are
marketed primarily at young consumers.

The FDA has never approved the inclusion of caffeine to
alcoholic drinks, and barring FDA approval, companies are required, at the
FDA’s request, to prove the safety of any additive. Joshua Sharfstein, Deputy
Commissioner at the FDA, said, "We're asking for their side of the story. Why they consider adding caffeine to be safe or legal."

Michelle Simon, Policy Director at the alcohol watchdog
agency, The Mirin Institute, commented on the FDA mandate, by saying,
"It's way past the time these products should have been pulled. I can't
imagine what these companies could come up with to satisfy the FDA's
request."

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